Winners of the 2026 Nobel Prizes will receive 12 million Swedish kronor per category, the Nobel Foundation has announced, the highest amount in the awards’ history.

The one-million-kronor increase, about 9 per cent, applies to each of the six categories as the prizes mark their 125th anniversary. At current rates, the sum is worth about $1.2 million. Where a prize is shared, the amount is divided among the laureates.

“This year, we are celebrating the 125th anniversary of the Nobel Prize, and in connection with this, we are pleased to be able to increase the prize amount by one million,” Hanna Stjarne, the foundation’s executive director, said in a statement on September 18.

“By increasing the prize amount, we uphold the long-term significance of the Nobel Prize and ensure that the financial part of the prize retains its value over time,” she added.

The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901, with a prize sum of 150,782 kronor per category. The amount was cut from 10 million to 8 million kronor in 2012 before being raised three times.

The 2026 laureates will be announced between October 5 and 12, starting with medicine and ending with economic sciences.